Chapter Two

Introduction to Computer Networks

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 Computer Network and its Applications
 At its most elementary level, a computer network consists of two

computers connected to each other by a cable that allows them to

share data.
 All computer networking, no matter how sophisticated, stems from

that simple system.

 Computer networking arose as an answer to the need to share data in

a timely fashion.
 Personal computers are powerful tools that can process and

manipulate large amounts of data quickly, but they do not allow users
to share that data efficiently.
 Before networks, users needed either to print out documents or copy
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 Contd.
 If others made changes to the document, there was no easy way

to merge the changes.

 This was, and still is, known as "working in a stand-alone environment."

 Copying files onto floppy disks and giving them to others to

copy onto their computers was sometimes referred to as the

"sneakernet." This early form of computer networking is one
that many of us have used and perhaps still use today

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Contd.

connecting together of computers and other devices is

called a network, and the concept of connected computers

sharing resources is called networking.

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Contd.

Two computers are said to be interconnected if they are

able to exchange information

Components of a compute networks
Hardware:
 Computer Media:
 Network card  Cable
 Routers  Wire
 Modem …  Microwave …

Software: Network Design:

 Network OS Logical layout
 Utilities … Physical layout …

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 Uses of Computer Networks

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 Contd.
1. Resource sharing
 the goal of network is to make all programs, equipment, and

especially data available to anyone on the network without

regard to the physical location of the resource and the user.
 An obvious and widespread example is having a group of office

workers share a common printer.

 None of the individuals really needs a private printer, and a

high-volume networked printer is often cheaper, faster, and

easier to maintain than a large collection of individual printers.
 Information sharing is more important than physical resource

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 Contd.
2. Means of communication
E-mail
Videoconferencing
Chatting
E-commerce
Game
….
3. Centralizing administration and support
Database
Banks
….

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 Network Types

There are basically three categories of networks based on

its size and geographical coverage

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

3. Wide Area Network (WAN)

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 LAN
 A local area network (LAN) is the basic building block of any
computer network.
 A LAN can range from simple (two computers connected by a
cable) to complex (hundreds of connected computers and
peripherals throughout a major corporation).
 The distinguishing feature of a LAN is that it is confined to a
limited geographic area.
 A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links
the devices in a single office, building, or campus.
 Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of
technology used, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a
printer in someone's home office; or it can extend throughout a
company and include audio and video peripherals.
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 Contd.

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 Contd.
 LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal

computers or workstations. The resources to be shared can include

hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g., an application program), or
data.
 In addition to size, LANs are distinguished from other types of networks

by their transmission media and topology.

 In general, a given LAN will use only one type of transmission

medium. The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star.
 Early LANs had data rates in the 4 to 16 megabits per second (Mbps)

range. Today, however, speeds are normally 100 or 1000 Mbps.

 Wireless LANs are the newest evolution in LAN technology.

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 WAN
A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance
transmission of data, image, audio, and video
information over large geographic areas that may
comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole
world.
A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that
connect the Internet or as simple as a dial-up line that
connects a home computer to the Internet. We
normally refer to the first as a switched WAN and to
the second as a point-to-point WAN

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 The switched WAN connects the end systems, which
usually comprise a router (internetworking connecting
device) that connects to another LAN or WAN.
The point-to-point WAN is normally a line leased from a
telephone or cable TV provider that connects a home
computer or a small LAN to an Internet service provider
(lSP). This type of WAN is often used to provide Internet
access.

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 MAN
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size
between a LAN and a WAN.
It normally covers the area inside a town or a city.
It is designed for customers who need a high-speed
connectivity, normally to the Internet, and have endpoints
spread over a city or part of city.
A good example of a MAN is the part of the telephone
company network that can provide a high-speed DSL line to
the customer (we will discuss DSL in later chapters) .
Another example is the cable TV network that originally was
designed for cable TV, but today can also be used for high-
speed data connection to the Internet.
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 Interconnection of Networks: Internetwork
Today, it is very rare to see a LAN, a MAN, or a LAN
in isolation; they are connected to one another.
When two or more networks are connected, they
become an internetwork, or internet.

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 Network, internet, and Internet
A network is a group of connected communicating
devices such as computers and printers.
An internet (note the lowercase letter i) is two or more
networks that can communicate with each other.
The most notable internet is called the Internet
(uppercase letter I), a collaboration of more than
hundreds of thousands of interconnected networks.
Private individuals as well as various organizations such
as government agencies, schools, research facilities,
corporations, and libraries in more than 100 countries
use the Internet.
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 Network Type based on connection
A network is two or more devices connected through
links.
A link is a communications pathway that transfers data
from one device to another.
For visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine any
link as a line drawn between two points.
For communication to occur, two devices must be
connected in some way to the same link at the same time.
There are two possible types of connections: point-to-
point and multipoint.

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 Point-to-Point
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link
between two devices.
The entire capacity of the link is reserved for
transmission between those two devices.
Most point-to-point connections use an actual length of
wire or cable to connect the two ends, but other options,
such as microwave or satellite links, are also possible.
When you change television channels by infrared
remote control, you are establishing a point-to-point
connection between the remote control and the
television's control system.
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 Multipoint
A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one
in which more than two specific devices share a single
link.
In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the
channel is shared, either spatially or temporally.
If several devices can use the link simultaneously, it is
a spatially shared connection.
If users must take turns, it is a timeshared connection.

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 Network Topology
The term topology refers to the way in which a network is
laid out physically. Two or more devices connect to a link;
two or more links form a topology. The topology of a
network is the geometric representation of the
relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually
called nodes) to one another.
There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus,
and ring

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 Star Topology
In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-
point link only to a central controller, usually called a hub.
The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only
between the two devices it connects.
The devices are not directly linked to one another.
Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow
direct traffic between devices.
The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to
send data to another, it sends the data to the controller,
which then relays the data to the other connected device

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 …
A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology.
In a star, each device needs only one link and one I/O port to connect it to any
number of others.
This factor also makes iteasy to install and reconfigure.
Far less cabling needs to be housed,
 additions, moves, and deletions involve only one connection: between that
device and the hub.
Other advantages include robustness. If one link fails, only that link is
affected. All other links remain active.
This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification and fault isolation.
As long as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link problems and
bypass defective links.
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 …
One big disadvantage of a star topology is the dependency
of the whole topology on one single point, the hub.
If the hub goes down, the whole system is dead.
Although a star requires far less cable than a mesh, each
node must be linked to a central hub.
For this reason, often more cabling is required in a star
than in some other topologies (such as ring or bus).
The star topology is used in local-area networks (LANs).
High-speed LANs often use a star topology with a central
hub.

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 Star topology

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 Bus Topology
A bus topology, is multipoint connection.
One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the
devices in a network

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 …
Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.
A drop line is a connection running between the device and the
main cable.
A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or
punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact with the
metallic core.
As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is
transformed into heat.
Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther
and farther.
For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can
support and on the distance between those taps.
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 Advantages of a bus topology include ease of installation.
Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path,
then connected to the nodes by drop lines of various
lengths.
In this way, a bus uses less cabling than mesh or star
topologies.
In a star, for example, four network devices in the same
room require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to
the hub.
In a bus, this redundancy is eliminated. Only the backbone
cable stretches through the entire facility.
Each drop line has to reach only as far as the nearest point
on the backbone.

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Disadvantages include difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A
bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient at installation.
 It can therefore be difficult to add new devices.
Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality. This
degradation can be controlled by limiting the number and spacing of
devices connected to a given length of cable.
Adding new devices may therefore require modification or
replacement of the backbone.
In addition, a fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission,
even between devices on the same side of the problem.
The damaged area reflects signals back in the direction of origin,
creating noise in both directions.
Bus topology was one of the first topologies used in the design of
early local area networks. Ethernet LANs can use a bus topology, but
they are less popular now.
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 Ring Topology
In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-
to-point connection with only the two devices on either
side of it.
A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from
device to device, until it reaches its destination.
Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. When
a device receives a signal intended for another device,
its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along

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 Ring topology

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 …
A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure.
Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors
(either physically or logically).
To add or delete a device requires changing only two
connections.
The only constraints are media and traffic
considerations (maximum ring length and number of
devices).
In addition, fault isolation is simplified.
Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times.

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 In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as a disabled
station) can disable the entire network.
This weakness can be solved by using a dual ring or a
switch capable of closing off the break.
Ring topology was prevalent when IBM introduced its
local-area network Token Ring.
Today, the need for higher-speed LANs has made this
topology less popular.

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 Mesh topology
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to
every other device.
To find the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network
with n nodes, we first consider that each node must be connected to every
other node.
 Node 1 must be connected to n - I nodes, node 2 must be connected to n – 1
nodes, and finally node n must be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n(n - 1)
physical links.
 However, if each physical link allows communication in both directions
(duplex mode), we can divide the number of links by 2. In other words, we
can say that in a mesh topology, we need n(n -1) /2 duplex-mode links.
To accommodate that many links, every device on the network must have n
– 1 input/output (I/O) ports to be connected to the other n - 1 stations.
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A mesh offers several advantages over other network topologies.
First, the use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection
can carry its own data load, thus eliminating the traffic problems
that can occur when links must be shared by multiple devices.
Second, a mesh topology is robust. If one link becomes unusable,
it does not incapacitate the entire system.
Third, there is the advantage of privacy or security. When every
message travels along a dedicated line, only the intended recipient
sees it. Physical boundaries prevent other users from gaining
access to messages.
Finally, point-to-point links make fault identification and fault
isolation easy.
Traffic can be routed to avoid links with suspected problems. This
facility enables the network manager to discover the precise
location of the fault and aids in finding its cause and solution.
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The main disadvantages of a mesh are related to the amount of
cabling and the number of I/O ports required.
First, because every device must be connected to every other
device, installation and reconnection are difficult.
Second, the sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the
available space (in walls, ceilings, or floors) can accommodate.
Finally, the hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports
and cable) can be prohibitively expensive.
For these reasons a mesh topology is usually implemented in a
limited fashion, for example, as a backbone connecting the
main computers of a hybrid network that can include several
other topologies.
One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of
telephone regional offices in which each regional office needs
to be connected to every other regional office
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 Mesh topology

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 Hybrid Topology
A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a
main star topology with each branch connecting
several stations in a bus topology (star-bus topology)

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 Network Models by Capability

Client/Server Model
• Microcomputer users, or clients, share services of a
centralized computer called a server.

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 Peer-to-Peer Model
Computers share equally with one another without having
to rely on a central server.

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 Client-server model

Two clients using a single server at a time

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 Client/Server
A distinction exists between computers that make available
network resources (servers) and those computers that use the
resources (clients or workstations) .
Pros:
 Very secure
 Centralized servers easy to manage
 Physically centralized
 Secure OS
 Better performance
 Centralized backups
 Reliability
 Simple job to do plus built in redundancy

Cons:
 Require professional administration
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 Peer-to-Peer (p2p)
Computers on the network communicate with each others as
equals and each computer is responsible for making its own
resources available to other computers on the network.
Pros:
 Uses less expensive computer networks
 Easy to administer
 No NOS (network operating system) required
 More built-in redundancy
 Shared resources – some machine will have what you need

Cons:
 Individual user performance easily affected
 Not very secure
 Tragedy of the commons – no guarantee others will administer their resources
47 of properly (almost guaranteed with over 10 machines)
52  Hard to back up.
 Client/Server vs. Peer-to-Peer:
Advantages and Disadvantages
Client/Server Model
Advantages:
 Very secure OS.
 Better performance.
 Centralized servers, easy
to manage.
 Centralized backups.
 High reliability.
Disadvantages:
 Expensive administration.
 More hardware intensive.
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Peer-to-Peer Model
Advantages:
 Uses less expensive networks.
 Easy to administer.
 Contain both network operating
system and application software.
 Ideal for small business and home
users (up to 10 computers).
Disadvantages:
 Individual user performance easily
affected.
 Not very secure.
 Hard to back up.